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Saturday, October 4

My Daughter's First Quilt

It hardly seems possible that this last month flew by so quickly. I have been working more than full time on my book and somehow managing to stay on schedule, despite unexpected surprises. It has wiped out my free time and I miss visiting everyone else's blogs. There are only 5 1/2 more weeks to go before my deadline, so wish me luck! I had to steal a little time today to crow though, because my daughter Kaitie made her very first quilt! I am so proud of her! It is quilt for her friend and co-worker Mary Ann, who found out that her cancer has returned. Kaitie came up with the idea of having everyone at work draw on a square of fabric in themes that Mary Ann loves - like the beach and pizza, etc. Before we started, we got wonderful advice from Val of Val's Quilting Studio, who wrote a tutorial on How to Make a Quilt with Kids. Val did a lot of helping us via emails as well. Thank you Val :) ! Kaitie sewed the squares all together on her Featherweight and then came over last weekend to sandwich, quilt, and bind the quilt. (One of my sewing machines has an even feed system that we thought would help) Kaitie chose Minky for the backing fabric and satin binding. She was aiming to make this quilt super cozy, like a hug. Kaitie used fleece for the batting, because the quilting was going to be very minimal and she wanted the quilt to hold up well in the wash. Wow was that satin binding a pain in the patooty to put on. It kept slipping as Kaitie sewed. She wanted to try fusible seam tape and I don't know why we didn't switch to that after we found out the clips weren't holding very well. It might have helped. How do you all cope with satin binding? I would love to hear any tips you have on that because my next big quilt for my son Sam is going to have homemade satin binding. Kaitie's first quilt:

Some of the neat blocks people drew

Mary Ann's finished quilt

My blogging is going to be spotty for the next month, but I do have something fun planned to celebrate after I meet my deadline. My only hint is that it is non-fattening!

A little update to add here: Mary Ann was very surprised and over-the-moon-happy about her quilt and has it on her bed now. It was just in time for her birthday, so they had a pizza party for her.

well, I cope with Satin binding by pretending it doesn't exist, and you can't work with something that doesn't exist, :) But the quilt is very beautiful and your daughter does you proud with her caring and thoughtfulness.

Lara, this is such and incredible quilt! Katie should be very proud and you definitely deserve to crow. . . a LOT! what a beautiful and thoughtful quilt! Beautifully done!! I have used minky, never satin - I'm guessing the combination would be difficult to deal with! Maybe glue basting would help? Katie did an awesome job with it even though it presented a challenge :)

Good luck as you work through this book! I've been thinking about you too! Such exciting times!!

Well done Kaitie - a great quilt and such a thoughtful thing to do. Satin binding sounds hard! Good luck Lara on the next few weeks - you're doing really well to have kept on schedule. Now for the final push...!

Satin binding? Never! lol But I love fleece for the batting. I use it mainly for baby quilts. That fabric makes them very comfy and supple. Your daughter made an excellent choice and had a very good idea for the squares. Those drawings and words will themselves provide comfort. And it's beautiful too!You seem to be working very hard on that book. I'm so looking forward to see it. :-)

Okay apparently my comment did not go through...good thing I copied it! Apologies if it does come through twice...

Lara, this is a heart-swelling and profoundly moving quilt, both to look at as well as to read about. I love all the input, the care and love shines through. Have never done satin binding, nor used fleece for batting, nor Minky for a backing...so I got nuthin'. Made my husband a reversible hunting jacket of fleece for both sides, and found that to be a nightmare, even with a walking foot, so have avoided fleece and similar fabrics ever since! What did Kaitie give the workers to use for drawing on the fabric? Whatever it is, it sure is vibrant!